


Same

by PimpedOutGreenEars



Category: Battle Royale (Manga), Battle Royale - All Media Types, Battle Royale - Takami Koushun
Genre: Fluff, Gen, M/M, lots of friendship - Freeform, these guys getting on the same page
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:07:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25858687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PimpedOutGreenEars/pseuds/PimpedOutGreenEars
Summary: "If you’d asked either of them a week ago, a day ago, or even an hour ago what their relationship was, they both would have assumed they’d have the same answer.The problem was, they’d just realized that maybe they didn’t."Shinji and Shuya need to get on the same page regarding their relationship. Are they just messing around or are they dating? Their best friends help them.
Relationships: Kuninobu Yoshitoki & Nanahara Shuya, Mimura Shinji & Seto Yutaka, Mimura Shinji/Nanahara Shuya
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	Same

**Author's Note:**

> The fact that this is the first time I've ever written Shinji/Shuya is amazing. It's such a classic pairing. Also, I mostly go by novel, but my Shuya always has a little of the manga flair with his emotions.
> 
> Anyway, I think I at least a little bit ripped off The Fault in Our Stars in this, but not to the degree that Shuya rips of Springsteen, so I'm going to call it gucci.

Shinji Mimura and Shuya Nanahara were not on the same page.

If you’d asked either of them a week ago, a day ago, or even an hour ago what their relationship was, they both would have assumed they’d have the same answer.

The problem was, they’d just realized that maybe they didn’t.

They were kissing on Shinji’s bed. It wasn’t the first time it’d happened.

No, the first time had been a little over two months ago at Hiroki’s house. Shuya had brought a flask of what he had only referred to as ‘the good stuff’ and, they had all had a little too much. Enough that Hiroki had been practically passed out on his bed, while Shinji and Shuya had stayed up talking quietly. What they were talking about was a blur to both of them, but Shinji figured he must have said something good, because Shuya had kissed his mouth after whatever it was. Shuya figured he must have kissed pretty good, because he’d barely pulled away before Shinji had been pulling him back.

Since that incident, a little over two months ago, things had changed. They hung out more, flirted more, and had kissed again on multiple occasions.

The problem was that they drew different conclusions about what that meant.

Because Shinji assumed they were just messing around.

While Shuya assumed they were dating exclusively.

It was while they were making out on Shinji’s bed that they realized they interpreted things differently.

Because Shuya pulled away, looked Shinji in the eyes and said, “I love you.”

And, well, Shinji didn’t say it back.

* * *

Shinji sat in his computer chair, with Yutaka sitting opposite of him on his bed.

A day ago, Shuya had laid in that bed and told him he loved him.

Today Yutaka sat there with a raised brow.

“Is something wrong?” Yutaka asked.

Looking at Shinji, there didn’t appear to be anything wrong. He looked calm, and he’d been acting normally all day. The thing that had thrown Yutaka off was that they were hanging out in Shinji’s bedroom. Shinji… well, if you asked Yutaka (or anyone who knew him well), he’d tell you that Shinji was a little anal retentive about his things. His things had places, and his things were clean, and it was just better for everyone involved if only Shinji touched those things.

So usually hang outs at Shinji’s occurred in the living room, and usually only when both of his parents were out of the house. But this time Shinji had led Yutaka directly to his room, a clear sign that something was up.

“I wouldn’t say wrong,” Shinji said, tapping his fingers against his arm rest. “I just want your advice on something.”

Shinji might as well have told Yutaka that he wanted him to fly, at least that’s how he felt. Yutaka couldn’t imagine a subject that he’d have more knowledge about than Shinji.

“Uh, I can try?” Yutaka said, as he raised his legs so he could sit cross legged on the bed. “Are you sure I’m the man you want for the job?”

Shinji smiled; he was very sure. “You’re my first and only choice.”

“Okay, no pressure then,” Yutaka said, grabbing his socked feet as though to ground himself.

Shinji winked in response, before saying, “I guess I should probably start by telling you I’ve been messing around with someone.”

“Okay,” Yutaka said drawing out the word. “That sounds pretty normal.”

“Almost,” Shinji agreed before throwing out the shocking part, “Except it wasn’t with a girl this time.”

Yutaka’s eyes widened. “You mean, it wasn’t with a girl like it was with a woman, or…” Yutaka trailed off, not wanting to offend Shinji if he was misunderstanding him.

“Like it was with a guy.”

“Oh, yeah, that’s different,” Yutaka said before realizing that he might have sounded offensive. “But not in a bad way! I mean, that’s totally cool! You’re totally cool! Not that you need my approval—”

“You’re rambling,” Shinji said, voice amused.

“I’m trying to be supportive! I love you!” Yutaka said before once again looking panicked. “Not as in, like, a confession! Just—You’re my best friend. Not that—”

“Aw, am I your favorite person?” Shinji cooed mockingly, figuring that might stop Yutaka’s ranting.

“Literally, yes! That’s what I’m saying!” Yutaka said, reaching his arm out to point at Shinji, as though to tell him that he had the correct answer.

Shinji snorted. “Message received,” he said, grinning broadly. “Not that I didn’t already know that. I wouldn’t be telling you this otherwise.”

“Oh, good,” Yutaka said, finally relaxing his body. He’d looked tense during his rambling.

“Now that we’ve established that _you_ love me, can we get back on topic? Because the guy I’ve been messing around with also said _he_ loved me, and I don’t think he meant it the same way you do,” Shinji explained.

Yutaka was nodding his approval before Shinji had even finished his first sentence, but by the end of what he was saying Yutaka had stopped to actively listen.

“When did that happen?” Yutaka asked.

“Last night. We were making out, and he said it,” Shinji explained.

“What did you do?” Yutaka asked.

Shinji shrugged. “I just kissed him again. Told him he was going to love what I did next.”

“Are you guys dating?” Yutaka asked, almost sounding confused.

“ _I_ didn’t think so, but now I’m thinking that maybe he thought we were,” Shinji said, reaching up to pull at the earring in his ear.

“Okay, so I’m lost,” Yutaka confessed, running a hand through his hair. “Hasn’t this happened with, like, three different girls?”

“Yeah, lots of people love me. What’s there to be lost about?” Shinji asked.

Yutaka shook his head. “I just mean that usually when that happens you cut it off right there. Tell them it’s not serious to you,” Yutaka said as he messed with an edge of Shinji’s blanket. “But you didn’t this time. Does that mean you really like this guy?”

Shinji frowned. “I guess that’s what I wanted to ask you about.”

“What do you mean?” Yutaka asked.

“I’m not sure if I like him. I guess I don’t really know what that even means,” Shinji admitted, looking uncomfortable at the admission. “Can you stop messing with my blanket?”

“Oh, yeah. Sorry,” Yutaka said dropping Shinji’s blanket and then smoothing it down. “Haven’t you liked any of the girls you’ve dated?”

Shinji hesitated. He hadn’t actually admitted to anyone that he hadn’t liked any of the girls he had dated. It was probably pretty clear most of the time based on his actions, but he’d never _said_ it. For a while he had kind of felt like it was a personal defect. Shinji Mimura, ladies and gentleman, he can do everything but fall in love.

“Not really. The sex was nice, and I liked the attention, especially when people were impressed,” Shinji said, striving for honesty. “But I didn’t really care about any of the girls. They were all pretty interchangeable, honestly.”

Yutaka nodded. “Okay, so what about this guy? Is he interchangeable? Would you just assume be with one of the girls you’ve dated?”

“No, but it’s a little more complicated than that,” Shinji said.

“Why?” Yutaka asked.

“Because he’s a friend, and I’m not sure if I like him more than the girls because of that or because I actually like him like that.”

“Wait—Which friend?” Yutaka asked. Shinji only had a couple of people he hung out with. Unless he was counting guys on the basketball team, there were only a couple of options.

“Obviously, this stays between us.” Shinji paused, wanting to make sure he had Yutaka’s word.

“I won’t tell anyone,” Yutaka promised.

Shinji nodded. He hadn’t realized how hard it was to talk about his feelings. “It’s Shuya.”

Yutaka was quiet for a second before saying, “Duuuuuuude! You’ve been messing around with Nanahara?” He was very obviously impressed.

Shinji nodded, pride in his gut.

“How did no one notice—Wait, for how long?” Yutaka asked, leaning forward against his knees.

Shinji shrugged. “Two months. Maybe a little more.” He didn’t mention that he knew the exact date when he’d first kissed Shuya.

“Dude! Fuck, yes. You should definitely date him! That makes so much sense. You’d be a total power couple!” Yutaka was radiating with enthusiasm.

“I don’t even know if I like him,” Shinji reminded him, even as he watched Yutaka’s reaction with a smile on his face.

“Well, let’s figure it out! How do I help?” Yutaka asked.

“I guess… Tell me how you know you like Kanai,” Shinji said. He thought maybe if he heard why Yutaka liked Kanai, a girl who Shinji thought was just okay, he’d have a better idea.

“Oh, yeah, that’s easy,” Yutaka said, a dreamy look taking over his face. “She’s… Really pretty.”

“That’s it?” Shinji asked, before quickly realizing how he sounded. “I’m not saying she isn’t. Just, what else?”

Yutaka shook his head. “No, I mean… When she’s watering the plants on the windowsill outside the classroom, she’s pretty. When she’s sleepy in class, resting her hands on her cheeks, she’s pretty. When she dropped the baton at the relay race at the class field day, she was pretty. And when she’s laughing at something Yuka Nakagawa or one of her other friends say, she’s beautiful,” Yutaka explained. He then looked at Shinji. “Does that make sense?”

Shinji nodded. It kind of did. Or at least it felt right. That seemed like what love was supposed to be.

“I mean, she could be shoveling shit, Shinji, and I’d still think she was pretty. It doesn’t matter what she does, I see her, and I _know_ it’s her. She’s who I want to be with.”

“I don’t know if that’s how I feel about Shuya,” Shinji said as he contemplated. “But I know that I like listening to him play guitar, even when I don’t like the song. And, I think he’s a little naive sometimes, but I think I’d hate it if he changed. And when I kiss him, I like how it feels. I’m not just thinking about how I can get to the next part.”

After he said it, they sat in silence for a few seconds.

Then Shinji looked at Yutaka. “That’s it, isn’t it?”

Yutaka nodded, a small smile on his face. “Yeah, man, that’s it. You like him.”

* * *

At nearly the same time that Shinji was talking to Yutaka, Shuya was talking to Yoshitoki.

“I screwed up so bad!”

“You didn’t screw up.”

Shuya and Yoshitoki were inside the bedroom they shared at the Charity House. Yoshitoki sat on the bottom bunk, watching as Shuya paced the room.

“I did though!” Shuya said, as he ran his hands through his hair. “He was so weird after I told him I loved him yesterday, not to mention he didn’t say it back—”

“He might just not be ready to say it—”

“And then today when I asked him to hang out, he ditched me because he said Yutaka was coming over,” Shuya said, sounding distraught.

“Maybe they already had plans,” Yoshitoki suggested.

“Or maybe he’s avoiding me because I told him I love him.” Shuya groaned as he stopped pacing and instead moved to lie down on the floor in the middle of the room. The wood floor was cold against his back, but he didn’t acknowledge it.

Yoshitoki, in true best friend fashion, got off the bed and lied down next to Shuya on the floor.

They laid looking up at the unmoving ceiling fan for a minute before Shuya sighed again.

“I can’t stop thinking about what you told me the other day,” Shuya said, still looking up at the ceiling fan.

“What did I say?” Yoshitoki asked, turning his head to look at Shuya.

“About how I needed to talk to Shinji and make sure we were on the same page about what we were doing,” Shuya said, his voice embarrassed.

“Shu, I told you to do that almost two months ago, not the other day,” Yoshitoki corrected.

Shuya groaned, arching his body with power of his distress. “Are you seriously going to correct me when I’m already hurting?” Shuya asked, finally looking over at Yoshitoki. “Besides, the other day can mean yesterday or a year ago; it’s not time sensitive.”

“Disagree,” Nobu said before flicking Shuya’s head. Shuya grabbed his head and shot Yoshitoki a betrayed look. “But I’m not going to lecture you. You felt confident that you and Shinji were feeling the same way, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Except that now I’m wondering if he even thinks we’re dating,” Shuya admitted. “Maybe it was just wishful thinking on my part. Maybe I misread everything.”

Yoshitoki shook his head, a little awkwardly since he was still lying on the floor looking at Shuya. “I know you. Even if you guys never had that talk, there’s no way you weren’t making your feelings clear. You’re too much of an open book.”

Shuya laughed. “This coming from you? You might as well write ‘I like Noriko Nakagawa’ on your forehead.”

Yoshitoki turned scarlet. “I’m not that obvious, am I? Does she know?”

Shuya looked back up at the ceiling but shook his head. “I don’t think she knows. I don’t think she’s good at noticing that kind of thing.”

Yoshitoki sighed in relief.

“I just think maybe Shinji didn’t realize how much I meant the stuff I was saying to him. Maybe to him it was just fun flirting until I dropped the ‘L’ word.”

Shuya thought back on the last two months, how much of it could be misconstrued? All of the times Shuya had told Shinji that he was amazing or something similar could easily have been read as platonic. Shuya had always told Shinji things like that. And the playful flirting? Well, Shinji would flirt with anyone, so it wouldn’t necessarily have meant anything to him.

Suddenly times he thought were special seemed easy to disregard. Running a hand through Shinji’s hair and telling him he was lucky to have him seemed dismissible.

And worse, that meant that maybe the things Shinji did didn’t hold much weight. Maybe Shinji lying with his head in Shuya’s lap, listening to him talk didn’t mean anything. Maybe it was all nothing to him.

Shuya’s heart was sinking like a capsized ship. He didn’t want it to not mean anything.

“Maybe, maybe not,” Yoshitoki said turning onto his side. “We haven’t seen him with any girls since this all started. That’s a good sign, right?”

“Yeah,” Shuya said, only to sigh. “But what if that isn’t because of me like I thought? What if I’m not the only guy he’s been with?”

Yoshitoki sat up then and looked over at Shuya, a determined look on his face.

“If that’s the case, then I’ll start a gym regimen,” Yoshitoki said.

“Huh? Why?” Shuya asked as he sat up next to Yoshitoki.

“Because I’ll have to kick Mimura’s ass,” he said, bumping their shoulders together. “No way is he two-timing you and getting away with it.”

Shuya grinned. “You’d try to fight Shinji?”

“Like I said, gym regimen first. I want to make sure I can at least get a good punch in,” Yoshitoki said, smiling at Shuya. “But that’s only if he’s messing around with other guys, which I wouldn’t understand. No other guy in our school comes close to being as good as you are.”

“You might be a little biased,” Shuya said, feeling touched by his best friend’s praise.

“No, if anything I’m the least biased because I have to put up with things like your dirty socks on the floor,” Yoshitoki argued as he picked up one of said socks and threw it at Shuya, who didn’t have time to dodge. “Besides, I’m with you often enough to see how the girls look at you. You’re definitely the best Shinji’s going to find.”

Shuya threw his dirty sock back on the floor as he smiled at Yoshitoki. Shuya was still pretty sure he was biased, but that didn’t stop him from appreciating his words. Knowing that he’d be there for him no matter what at least made Shuya a little less anxious.

“Thanks, man,” Shuya said.

“No problem,” Yoshitoki said.

Yoshitoki was about to tell Shuya that they should get off the floor when Shuya spoke again.

“What if he’s messing around with Yutaka too?” Shuya asked it partially as a joke, but also because the thought suddenly popped into his mind and he needed Yoshitoki to help him get it out.

Yoshitoki shrugged. “Well, I can probably take Yutaka in a fight now.”

Both of them laughed at that.

“But I’m pretty sure I don’t have to. Like I said, he’s crazy if he doesn’t want to be with you,” Yoshitoki reassured him.

“So what should I do then?” Shuya asked. “How do I handle things with him?”

“Just talk to him. It’s not too late to make sure you’re on the same page,” Yoshitoki advised. He then stood up and offered a hand down to Shuya. “Now get up off the floor, we should seriously clean up in here sometime.”

Shuya took his hand and stood. “It’s not that bad,” he said looking around the room. Well, it wasn’t great either. They could probably stand to sweep more.

But for now, Shuya was going to put off that problem to focus on a bigger one.

“Would it be crazy for me just call and ask? I don’t think I can wait until tomorrow, and I don’t want to storm his house,” Shuya said, already looking at the door and thinking about grabbing the cordless phone from the kitchen.

“So long as you don’t come out and actually say it on the phone. Mimura seems pretty sure that the government is listening in to everyone’s phone calls,” Yoshitoki reminded him.

“I’ll be covert,” Shuya said, already having decided what he was going to do. “Will you sit with me while I do it? In case I try to chicken out?”

Yoshitoki nodded. “Sure, Shu.”

“I’ll get the phone,” Shuya said.

* * *

“So what is the plan, now?” Yutaka asked, practically bouncing with energy on Shinji’s bed. “Are you going to tell Shuya that you love him too?”

Shinji didn’t have time to answer before his cellphone started ringing on his desk. Both of them looked over to it, and Shinji spun his chair around to pick it up.

“It’s Shuya,” he said.

“Pick it up!” Yutaka yelled, doing a ‘hurry up’ motion with his hand.

Shinji rolled his eyes but did as he was told.

“Hey,” Shinji greeted.

“Hey, it’s Shuya.”

“I know. What’s up?” Shinji asked. He felt an unfamiliar nervousness in his gut and having Yutaka staring at him didn’t help.

“Well… I guess I just wanted to say I’m sorry if I made things awkward with what I said yesterday. I didn’t mean to,” Shuya explained.

Yutaka was suddenly standing in front of Shinji. “What’s he saying?” he whispered.

Shinji pushed Yutaka away and stood up from his chair, but Yutaka still remained as close as possible.

“No, you didn’t make things awkward. I just wasn’t expecting that is all,” Shinji explained.

Yutaka was shaking his head like he didn’t think that was the right thing to say. Shinji loved Yutaka, but he kind of wanted to push him out of his room.

“Right… I guess I just recently realized that you wouldn’t be expecting that. I… I had kind of thought you would,” Shuya explained. On his end of the phone Yoshitoki was trying to keep a reassuring look on his face despite the tone of the call.

Shinji sighed. “No, I hadn’t expected it. But, I realize that I should have. That was my mistake.”

Yutaka grabbed his head in frustration, before mouthing ‘tell him.’ Shinji turned the other direction to ignore him.

“Oh. Well, I just wanted to clear that up,” Shuya said. Beside him Yoshitoki gave him a look that said to continue. “And tell you that I meant it. And I hope that’s okay.”

“It is okay. And we should talk about this in person tomorrow,” Shinji said. He’d decided that he wanted to say it back. And with the possibility that the phonelines were tapped, Shinji couldn’t currently do that. But tomorrow he could. And he’d do it right, too. Make sure that since Shuya had to wait to hear it, that he said it especially well.

He might have to ask Yutaka about how to do that, since he wasn’t really great at the serious romance stuff yet. But he’d make sure he got good for Shuya.

Yutaka groaned out loud. “Oh my god! Just tell him you feel the same! Holy shit!”

The glare Shinji shot him was murderous, but Yutaka ignored it. “You’re making it sound bad!”

On the other end of the phone, Shuya and Yoshitoki could hear Yutaka. His words had rang out clearly enough. Shuya and Yoshitoki were both smiling. “Thank god I don’t have to go to the gym,” Yoshitoki joked lowly as Shuya laughed.

Shuya then said into the phone, “Yeah, talking tomorrow is good. It sounds like you have your hands full with Yutaka right now.”

Shinji sighed. Shuya’s tone left no room for doubt that he’d heard Yutaka. Shinji guessed a romantic confession wouldn’t be needed. Well, whatever. Shuya sounded happy at least. And Shinji could still make sure he said it better later when they were face-to-face.

“Yeah, he’s being a lot,” Shinji said, staring at Yutaka so that there would be no doubt who he was talking about. Yutaka threw up his hands like Shinji had somehow exasperated _him_.

“Okay, I’ll talk to you tomorrow then?” Shuya asked, tone gentle and loving.

“Yeah, you will,” Shinji said back the same way. “And, Shuya?”

“Yeah?” Shuya asked.

“Same. You know?” Shinji said, hoping that Shuya understood that he was trying to say that he loved him.

“Yeah, I know,” Shuya said, then he repeated, “Same.”

“Don’t make it a thing, Shu,” Shinji said, his heart feeling full like a cup that’s liquid had run over.

“Too late,” Shuya said, a grin on his face.

“You’re killing me,” Shinji said, but it was a pleasant sort of death.

“Same,” Shuya said. He was okay with killing the Third Man this way. Shinji had been having that effect on Shuya for what felt like years.

Shinji sighed, completely giving in. “Same.”

Shuya then ended the call, and Shinji laid his phone down on his desk, smiling fondly at it as though Shuya was still on the line.

“You’re welcome,” Yutaka said, looking perfectly smug when Shinji turned toward him.

Shinji shook his head. “You have boundary issues,” Shinji chastised before gently pushing Yutaka towards his bedroom door. “Now come on, I’ll make food, you tell me the most romantic way you can think of to say ‘I love you.’”

* * *

That night at the Charity House, Shuya and Yoshitoki were lying in their beds, getting ready to go to sleep when Shuya asked, “Just to double check, Shinji was definitely telling me he loves me too, right?”

Yoshitoki snorted. “Yeah, Shu. He definitely was.”


End file.
